Brand Identity Continuity: Ford Mustang vs. Ford Thunderbird

Two of Ford's long-term models that essentially functioned as separate brands were the Thunderbird and Mustang.

Thunderbirds first appeared as two-passenger sporty cars in 1955, were redesigned as four-passenger cars for 1958 and continued in production through the 1997 model year.  Then for 2002-2005 the make was revived as a two-passenger car, and that marked its end, at least for now.

The Mustang debuted as a four-passenger sporty car in April 1964 and the marque continues to be marketed.  Its visual brand identity remained fairly (but not totally) consistent over the past 55 years.  The same could not be said for Thunderbird over its roughly 45 years in production.

This post presents the initial and most recent front-end designs along with some intervening versions.  Unless otherwise noted, images are via Ford or of cars listed for sale.

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The original 1964 1/2 Mustang.  Note the high grille opening and the shaping on either side.  The grille position, along with the sculpted pony, became consistent brand identifiers.  The shaping reappears decades later.

The first major redesign was in 1974 in the form of the small Mustang II.

The 1979 Mustang is one of the least- Mustang-like designs.  The grille opening remains high, but the pony is now a small element on the hood.

Another weakly identified Mustang is this 1994 model developed at the time Ford was heavily into aerodynamic styling.  Still, there is a high grille opening with a mustang in it.

The current Mustang, announced for 2015.  The high grille, its side shaping and the pony are all present.

Now for the Thunderbird, this initial 1955 model in a Mecum auctions photo.

For 1958, Thunderbird became a four-passenger car.  The earlier grille shape is retained, as is the blanked greenhouse quarter panel.  And there is an air intake feature on the hood, but otherwise the styling is different.

The next redesign was for 1961, as shown in this Mecum photo.  The only carryover features are the quarter panel and hood embellishment.

1967 saw the introduction of a four-door sedan to the Thunderbird line, a feature dropped for the next redesign.  The quarter panel is now something of a broad C-pillar.

The next new body came for 1972.  Aside from the winged Thunderbird badge, the C-pillar is retained in weakened form.

1977 Thunderbirds finally lost the C-pillar / quarter panel trait.  At this point, nothing is carried over from the 1955 model.

A 1985 Thunderbird showing the aerodynamic body introduced for 1983.  The fat C-pillar returns.

Model year 1989 saw the introduction of the final four-passenger Thunderbird.  No carryover but the bird badge.

Thunderbird's last gasp was this two-passenger car introduced for 2002.  Its design was an intentional harking back to the 1955 car.  Note the grille.  The "porthole" window on the greenhouse quarter panel recalls a similar item on 1956 Thunderbirds.

Renault 16, Ugly "Car of the Year"

Starting in 1964 there is an award called European Car of the Year determined by writers for a group of automobile magazines.  Scanning the lists found at the link kept the phrase "What were they thinking?" rattling around my brain.

My problem might be that my most important criterion is styling whereas those writers were more concerned with engineering and packaging matters.

For 1966 the winning car was the subject of this post, the Renault 16 (sometimes called the R16).

The R16 link is very positive regarding the car, quoting favorable remarks about it from notables such as race driver Starling Moss and (future) Renault design chief Patrick le Quément.  Apparently the R16 was an early hatchback or five-door design -- a hybrid of a sedan and a station wagon.  Perhaps that packaging feature was what won it the award.

It couldn't have been the Renault 16's styling, for it was an awkward, ugly thing by my reckoning.  Let's take a look:

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The R16's body features a tall, six-window passenger greenhouse with a downward-sloping beltline that recalls the classic Citroën Traction-Avants and Peugeot 402s from the 1930s.

To me, the R16's proportions seem almost totally off.  The greenhouse (large for its time) is nearly as tall as the lower body  The wheels/tires are a little too small -- about 40 percent of the car's height (near 50 percent tends to be better).  The character line on the side also works against the design, making the lower body appear even lower.

The aft end features sail-panel style C-pillars.  This reduces visual bulk as seen from this angle, but the C-pillars add a little bulk viewed from the side, as in the previous photo.  I think a better-looking solution would have been to eliminate the sail panel feature and make the C-pillars cover the rearmost side windows.  (Though French buyers probably would have preferred the traditional six-window style.)

The hatch in action.

Another viewpoint.

Front end.  The R16 has the word "Renault" on the hatch, but the only brand identifier here is what appears to be a tiny Renault diamond badge just above the license plate.

"Devil's Breath" Alfa by Touring

This post's subject is a 1935 berlina aerodinamica body design for the Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 chassis by Carrozzeria Touring before its Superleggera system appeared.

It was called Soffio di Satana, or "Devil's Breath" for a reason obscure to me.

A few years ago Bonhams auctioned one of the three cars built.  Its web page quotes from "Hull & Slater’s standard work, 'Alfa Romeo – A History'” as follows:

"This aerodynamic saloon by Touring of Milan is one of just three built and is the only example known to survive. The first was commissioned by the renowned Italian poet, Gabriele d’Annunzio, who helped design its lines and gave it its name (“Devil’s Breath”). The second was delivered to celebrated soprano, Gina Cigna, and the third, this car, was built for Barone Mariano Pagliaro who specified “Blu Notte d’Oriente” livery with blue leather upholstery, to match his coat of arms. This car was raced in the 1934 Targa Abruzzo, winning the Turismo class before delivery to the Baron."

Gabriele d'Annunzio was a writer, adventurer and politician, still well-remembered in Italy.  He was quite capable of the Devil's Breath naming.  That might or might not be true, but it makes for a good story, so I'll go along with it for now.

The above quotation states that only one of those cars seemed to have survived.  Since then, d'Annunzio's emerged and went on auction.  The majority of the images below are of it.

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This car on display, probably in Milan, has rear fender spats and the others do not, so it might be the Gina Cigna car, now lost.

This is the d'Annunzio car.

Here is the Barone Pagliaro version.

D'Annunzio's car, photos via the Ruote Vecchia website.

Its six cylinder motor and six-window passenger compartment results in a proportionally short hood.  Stylists were still groping with how to deal with streamlining in 1934-1935 when the Devil's Breath was designed, but as usual Touring came up with a pleasing solution.  But note the windshield is a two-piece affair, yet its V is so shallow as to hardly be worth the effort.

The spare tire lies beneath that round lid at the car's stern, so it lacked an obvious trunk.  It should be remembered that trunks were still not universal for four-door sedans in those days.

Front quarter view.  A fine design from the days when the transition from boxy to streamlined was taking place.  That transition produced many awkward designs, something Touring avoided here.  By the way, the grille is of the "fencer's mask" type, a fashion starting in the USA at that time.

Late 1960s Thunderbirds and Continental Mark IIIs

As this Wikipedia entry mentions, Ford Motor Company realized that its new Mustang would displace the Thunderbird as Ford's sporty, four-seat car model.  So the Thunderbird was slated to become even more upscale and a little less sporty.

Now for my conjecture.  A new Thunderbird might have shared tooling with existing or planned Ford models, but apparently it was decided that none of those platforms would be appropriate for the new concept.  The Lincoln platform was probably thought too large for even a semi-sporty Thunderbird.

So the decision was made to risk creating a new body for Thunderbirds.  And to increase this body's production in an attempt to help amortize its cost, it was decided to also use it for a sporty Lincoln that would be called the Continental Mark III.

The resulting Thunderbird was marketed model years 1967-1971.  The Mark III was launched during the 1968 model year and also continued through 1971.  Total production was just under 360,000 cars -- 280,000 Thunderbirds and 80,000 Continentals.  For the first (and last) time, there was a four-door Thunderbird; the remaining Thunderbirds and all Mark IIIs were coupés.  Four-door production was 77,500 --  21.6 percent of the overall total and 27.8 percent of Thunderbird production.  Given the high prices of the cars, it's likely that Ford found its platform-creation gamble profitable.

Thunderbirds had a 115-inch (2921 mm) wheelbase and were 209.4 inches (5319 mm) long.  Comparable Mark III dimensions were 117.2 inches (2977 mm) and 216.1 inches (5489 mm).  These differences and related styling might have been enough to explain the lag between the Thunderbird's introduction and the Mark III's.

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The 1967 Ford Thunderbird line, factory photo.  At the upper left is the basic Thunderbird coupe that always sold less well than the Landau coupe at the upper right.  The four-door sedan in the foreground was also called a Landau, even though the roofs were fixed and covered with vinyl.

Barrett-Jackson auction photo of the sedan.  Even though it's a rear-wheel-drive car, it has plenty of front overhang, not to mention that at the rear.  The sloping hood, trunk and fenders provide a sense of lightness to Thunderbirds when seen in profile.

Set of photos of a Landau coupé for sale.  Aside from the faux-Landau gimmickry, the design is attractive.  The front is simplified in part due to retractable headlight covers in the grille ensemble.  Bumpers were skimpy, but in tune with the times.

A 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III, Mecum auction photos.  Styling is more squared off than the Thunderbird's, creating a massive, less-graceful appearance.  Its grille strongly echoes the Rolls-Royce's and the faux-spare tire cover is a tribute to the original 1939-vintage Lincoln Continental.

Now for some body comparisons: this sedan is a "for sale" car.  Observe the rear door cut lines and compare to the coupé below.  The tops and notional C-pillars are the same -- or rather, the side window profiles are the same.  To make room for the rear door, the front door is narrower than the coupé's -- standard practice.  The rear door cuts well into what was the coupé's C-pillar.  It is hinged at the rear, a practice on 1960s Lincolns, but probably used here for body engineering reasons.

Side view of the "for sale" coupé pictured above.  Compare to the Mark III coupé below.

Mecum photo of a 1969 Mark III.  Its rear axle line is slightly farther aft than that of the Thunderbird.  The door shape is slightly different.  The rear fender high point is immediately abaft of the quarter window, whereas the Thunderbird rear fender peaks over the wheel opening.  The shapes of the passenger greenhouses are the same from the windshield to the B-pillar, but thereafter the Continental's seems shorter -- perhaps due to higher fender and trunk lines.  Hood and front fenders are higher than the Thunderbird's.  An impressive-looking car, but to me a little less attractive than the Thunderbird.

1951-1954 Nash-Healey: First American Postwar Sports Car

I'll begin by qualifying this post's title.  The Nash-Healey, for sale in 1951, was the first post- World War 2 sports car offered by an established American car maker -- the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation.

Some background can be found here, here, and here.

Nash-Healeys had Nash motors and drivetrains, Healey chassis, suspensions, etc., and bodies by other vendors.  The 1951 cars had bodies designed by Healey and built by Panelcraft Sheet Metal of Birmingham, England.  For 1952 and later, bodies were designed and built by Pinin Farina in Italy.  Farina also contributed ideas for the restyled 1952 Nash passenger cars.

As the links mention, in part due to shipping costs (USA to England to Italy to USA) and the low-production semi-custom bodies, Nash-Healeys were expensive -- production being limited to slightly more than 500 cars.

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This is the 1950 Nash-Healey prototype.

The prototype's grille is similar to that of the 1950 Nash NXI concept car shown here.

Production 1951 Nash-Healey.  Its grille is that of the 1951 Nash sedan with the Nash emblem placed on its center, as was used on 1952 Nashes.  The body design is pleasant and in the fashion of contemporary sports cars.  That is, the hood is fairly low and the fenderline is flowing with an up-kick abaft of the door.  The main clashing element is the windshield, whose strongly rectangular form is not related to the curved body lines.

Rear quarter view of the very first 1951 Nash-Healey in an auction photo.  Pleasing, but not distinctive.

Factory photo of a 1953 Nash-Healey Coupé by Pinin Farina.  The 1952 Farina design abandoned the use of a stock Nash Grille, though 1955 Nashes got grilles similar in concept to the one seen here.  The 1952-54 Nash-Healey design seems fussier than Healey's 1951 version, particularly the front end and the use of a separate rear fender.  On the other hand, the design is more distinctive, a plus factor in marketing terms.

Rear quarter view of a 1953 Nash-Healey auctioned by Mecum.  This shows the one-piece backlight.  I think the two-tone paint scheme detracts from the design by adding yet another  fussy element.

1954 Nash-Healey roadster, Hyman auction photo.  The curved, one-piece windshield is a better solution than the initial two-piece, flat glass windscreen of 1951.

1954 Nash-Healey Coupé, again via Hyman, Ltd.

Same car: For 1954 the back window became a three-piece affair similar to backlights on American hardtop convertibles of the early 1950s.  A distinctive feature of Pinin Farina's design is the upkick / mini-tailfin at the aft of the rear fender.  This and the grille incorporating headlights were key identification features on 1952-54 Nash-Healeys.

1953 Buick Wildcat show car whose fender line previewed that of 1954 productions Buicks.  Note the same sort of aft up-kick seen on the Nash-Healeys.  Surely Buick stylists were aware of that Farina touch, but borrowed it anyway.

General Motors' 1959 All-Brands Body Variations

The Styling of General Motors' 1957-58 Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs and its 1958 Chevrolets and Pontiacs was noticeably more rounded (even bloated, perhaps?) than that of most of its competition.  Sales suffered.  So an across-the-board crash redesign project was launched, resulting in every GM brand sharing essentially the same basic body (with variations, as shown below) for model year 1959.  This was in stark contrast to GM's policy since around 1940 of having three basic bodies, each used by some, but not all, of its brands.

I discussed how the 1959 bodies appeared on Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs here using four-door hardtops as the basis for comparison.

In the present post, variations on this basic body are illustrated.  Buick is used because it was the only brand where all such sub-types were marketed.  Images below are of cars listed for sale unless otherwise noted.  Since all the cars were essentially the same from the middle of their front doors forward, all the photos save the station wagon's show rear quarter views, where the differences are concentrated.

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Two-door sedan: LeSabre was Buick's newly (and confusingly) renamed entry level line, replacing Special. Only LeSabre offered two-door Buick sedans. Roofs were more rounded on '59 GM sedans and station wagons than on hardtops. The latter are nowadays sometimes referred to as "flat-roof" cars.

Four-door sedan: Another LeSabre, though Buick also offered 4-door sedans on its Invicta (formerly Super) and Electra (ex-Roadmaster) lines, but not on its luxury Electra 225 models.

Station wagon: LeSabre Estate Wagon.

Two-door hardtop coupe: This from the Buick Electra line, Electras being the top level, but just short of Electra 225s.  Back windows ("backlights") on GM's hardtop coups and 2-door sedans were tall, quite possibly admitting too much direct sunlight for comfort on the necks of back-seat passengers on summer days.

Four-door hardtop sedan, four-window type: Also an Electra.  This model had a huge amount of glass-area that was minimally obstructed by window frames (by the B-pillar stub) and the A- and C-pillars.  This is the model I used in the post cited above for brand comparisons.

Four-door hardtop sedan, six-window type: Only Electra 225s had six-window hardtops, and the only others of this GM body type were sold by Cadillac.  I don't have a source for this photo.

Convertible: An Electra 225 convertible, factory publicity photo.  I find it interesting because the car is posed by a Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop-powered airliner that entered service in January 1959.  The plane is painted in an Allison scheme, Allison being a General Motors division that built the turboprop motors for the Electra transports.  Chalk this photo up as a Double Whammy advertising coup.